


Harvest and Home

by Illegible_Scribble



Series: 31 Days of Frodo/Sam, 2018 [31]
Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Quest, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 05:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16469489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illegible_Scribble/pseuds/Illegible_Scribble
Summary: The Fellowship reunites in the Shire to celebrate a holiday of family and good food, and to reminisce over those they've lost.





	Harvest and Home

It is well known to anyone acquainted with hobbits, that they will find any possible reason (or 'excuse' as others might say), to eat, particularly sumptuous feasts that have several courses of appetizers, proper entrees and desserts. In fact, one day each week in the Shire Reckoning is dedicated to feasting.

In its turn, hobbits are also immensely fascinated by their own genealogies, and will happily spend countless hours recounting their family histories between themselves, and finding out who is related to whom. Similarly, they are also terribly fond of their familial relations – in fact, hobbits send _others_ gifts on their own birthdays – and whenever a chance comes up, often invite them out or in for meals (which are always quite fine), over which their families are often reminisced.

Those things considered, it should be of little surprise that hobbits would decide with small argument among themselves, that a day dedicated to memories of family and celebration of good food and harvests ought to be noted somewhere of import. The chosen day for the dedicated event was the 30th of Winterfilth, after the harvests have been finished, but before the first proper frosts; a perfect time to settle down with one's family for a hot cup of cider, and to recall happy tales of days and relations past and present.

The name of the occasion went through several changes – and to this day still has a few region-specific titles – but the most common one became Harvest and Home, or Harhome to save on the syllable count.

Though the road to 1420's Harhome was long and troubling – for the previous year's grief wrought by Sharkey and his ruffians – it came as it ever did, more smoothly than many had even dared hope. The bounty of harvests and the vibrant reds, golds and browns of the new trees were thanks in great part to the work of Samwise Gamgee and his magic box of earth, but the reordering of the Shire and the lives of those in it was aided by more hands than his alone.

Among the chief helping hands, Captains Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took played a great part in aiding their fathers' tidying up of Buckland and Tookland. Certainly not the least among them, Deputy-Mayor Frodo Baggins had done the most with reconstructing Sharkey's puffed-up reimagining of the Shirrifs, and plainly holding the Shire together as Will Whitfoot recovered from his time in the Lockholes.

Each and of them earned a toast at every table that Harhome – even their own, to their degrees of varying embarrassment and pride.

The Travelers had flocked to Bag End for the occasion (or at least, the two that did not already live there [Merry and Pippin] had), and by special invitation, the wizard Gandalf, the elf Legolas, and Gimli the dwarf had also been invited to reminisce over their Fellowship, and the various loves they had known, and wished to remember.

The initial portion of their evening (which Pippin dubbed the 'appetizer' to their proper dinner) was spent at the _Green Dragon_ along Bywater road, where many introductions and explanations were offered to the other hobbit-patrons.

Legolas was afforded the opportunity to try the entire selection of Shire-made liquors, and to Merry's disappointment most of all, Legolas decided the wine made by Dale-Men was superior to anything from Buckland. Gimli snorted into his ale, merely saying, “The Elvish Princeling's tongue just isn't tuned to the finer things of life.”

Frodo in particular felt a sense of nostalgic comfort he had not known for more than a year, to be surrounded so by his friends. Having them near and knowing each were safe – especially Gandalf – thoroughly dissipated any worries of loneliness or fright that he had feared might come over him. As he held hands with Sam under the table, he realized he was truly very happy.

The Fellowship – such as it was, in the absence of Aragorn (who couldn't make it, being King now, and all) – ended up introduced to most residents of Hobbiton-Bywater, even by secondhand recounts. Frodo felt old strings of his heart be tuned again as Folco Boffin and Fredegar Bolger sat with them to talk (curious, yet baffled though they might have been), and in a fashion, their friendship was rekindled. (For a long while, due to various pressures of time and responsibility [and Frodo feeling too reserved to reach out], they had been kept apart – but no longer.)

Legolas was eventually prompted to a game of darts with some of the _Dragon's_ finest – which included Pippin, or so he fancied himself – and it was only after the elf and Gandalf shared a few words in private did Legolas throw a dart outside the center. In the end, they gave up keeping score and declared it a draw among everyone, though for those that had kept the numbers, Legolas had been the clear winner three darts in.

Later, Gimli taught the song-enthusiasts of the tavern a favored dwarvish drinking song (with a few words of Khuzdul sprinkled in – no one could quite discern what it meant, but Gandalf was seen blushing under his beard several times), and at the end of their spell in the tavern, the wizard treated his fellow patrons to an impressive show of smoke-rings and other shapes with his pipe.

By the time the gold-touched silver sphere of the moon was peeking over the east horizon, the Fellowship bid the _Dragon_ a good night and pleasant Harhome, as they made their way back to Bag End.

Within Bag End's dining room – as is custom in many Harhome decorations – a display had been erected with portraits of particularly cared-for loved ones (along with a genealogy belonging to each hobbit – Frodo and Sam had drawn a line between theirs, linking their names). Other branches had been added specially for those that Gandalf, Legolas and Gimli wished to contribute, and other persons outside hobbits (as even the four Travelers had grown close with many Men and others in their time beyond the Shire).

Gimli supplied the most numerous stock of portraits, primarily the dwarves of Thorin's company. The portrait of Thorin II Oakenshield was accorded special honor alongside Bilbo's at the top (not that he was dead, but not present, and deserving of remembrance on the day), and his nephews Fíli and Kíli were placed not far beneath, alongside Dáin Ironfoot. Below them, beside the genealogies and pictures of the hobbits' relations, he added Balin, and those that had accompanied him to their ends in Moria.

To the surprise and private remorse of Pippin (who had instituted a wager with his fellow hobbits when they invited the elf to this dinner), Legolas did not come empty-handed, either. With him he bore a likeness to Halbarad the Dúnadan, leader of the Grey Company, who had perished on the Pelennor Fields, along with other Men and Elves that had died in the Battle of the Five Armies, or in the War of the Ring.

For some moments there was an unpleasant murmur through the Fellowship as Gandalf placed a single portrait among the Elves and Men: the likeness was unmistakably that of Saruman, but as he had been once: more wise than proud, with thought still to nature more than machine. “In memory of all those that held hope and courage in their hearts, though in the end, they succumbed to their own designs, or the Evil of the Enemy.” sighed the wizard, as he stepped away.

Merry and Pippin thereafter added three additional portraits belonging not to hobbits: foremost among them was Boromir, placed of equal to Thorin and Bilbo, just below which Merry placed a drawing of Théoden, and reluctantly next to Saruman, Pippin added a picture of Denethor.

Last – but again not the least – Frodo and Sam rose together to add a third picture beside Denethor and Saruman. None of the company save Gandalf could puzzle it out without a hint, for the person looked strikingly similar to a Stoorish hobbit – but no one they could name. “Sméagol,” Frodo explained after a murmur of confusion. “Without him, at the last gasp the Quest would have been lost. Though Gollum held the greatest hold on him, and lead to the Doom of them both, Sméagol was still inside, somewhere. And he tried so very hard to help us.”

As Frodo and Sam seated themselves again, each member of the Fellowship raised a glass of wine, in turn toasting their families, along with those whose portraits they'd put up. It was a long time before they finally drank from their glasses and tucked into their meal, but none dared break this moment of respect dedicated to all of those that had allowed them to be here today. The last toast was given by Gandalf, who commended everyone present at the table, most especially Frodo – to his embarrassment, and the resounding applause of the rest of the Fellowship. Sam had shyly kissed his hand before they went to drink from their glasses.

What could have been dozens of courses to any Man went by, and dinner stretched on into the early hours of the morning, filled varyingly with abundant laughter and tears. Stories were shared from the week before, as well as years ago- of the Old Took's parties, what it had been like to discover thirteen dwarf prisoners disappeared from Mirkwood, the beauty of the Glittering Caves, and the goings-on of the Tooks and Brandybucks (old and new). When it came to their turn, Frodo and Sam made the formal announcement of their togetherness. It surprised exactly no one, Merry and Pippin having been in the know of it for quite a while, while the dwarf, wizard and elf had all been taking bets about just when it would be announced. Two bags of coins were duly passed beneath the table to Gimli's waiting hands.

Frodo felt at utter peace in his heart, though he cried just as much as he laughed. The crying felt wonderful, he realized, to not be ashamed of what moved or hurt him – and bittersweet though many of the shared memories were, he could love the sweet just as much as he could accept the bitter. For the first time in a great while he spoke of his parents, relaying proudly his father's legendary excellence with putting apples in any dish, the meticulous brilliance of his mother's quilt-making, and how much love they had shared between them.

He cried still as Sam, Merry, Pippin and even Gandalf regaled wonderful tales of Bilbo – some of which he'd never before heard – missing his uncle dearly, but hoping he was at peace in Rivendell.

By the time the wine had, in fact, run dry, and dessert exhausted, a close was called to the night's feasting, but no one disputed that tomorrow's breakfast would be an equally sumptuous meal of the finest leftovers (few though they may be) in the Shire.

Dishes were left for sometime tomorrow, and while the rest of the smial settled in to bed, Gandalf and Frodo settled on the bench in the front garden for a final smoke. Lights glittered still like stars from Hobbiton below, and the Water reflected the star-studded night sky, like a mirror enchanted by Varda. “Are you well, Frodo?” Gandalf asked after a while, a crisp autumn breeze whispering softly through the garden.

Frodo put off an answer until he successfully blew a smoke ring through one of Gandalf's. “Yes,” his voice was careful, but not tentative or unsure, “I am very well.”

“Do you still dream of the Sea?”

There was a silence – but for the breeze – while Frodo nibbled contemplatively on the stem of his pipe. “Yes,” he echoed himself, “I do.” Gandalf began an uneasy noise, but quieted when he realized Frodo hadn't finished. “But I don't feel an... urge for it, if you understand. I have seen the Towers, and the Sea, but I don't wish to climb them nor sail it. I see the harbor, as if it's a place I shall visit – and indeed only once, I think. To say goodbye, but not to this shore; rather, something I believe will sail over the horizon, away from me; but not I from it.” he looked over to the wizard, and saw an encouraging smile beneath his beard.

“And your shoulder, then?”

Frodo touched it gently, recalling a few weeks before, the darkness that had come over his eyes and the pain that had blossomed anew in the wound. It had brought him pain, but he knew (or perhaps convinced himself) it was less than the initial hurt inflicted on it, and he had not been alone – and he knew that. Sam had been beside him the entire day, and he'd been aware and dearly appreciative of him.

For that, and Gandalf's promised help shortly after the wizard had arrived for this celebration, Frodo doggedly believed he could and would get better. If anything, he wouldn't let it be otherwise. “It troubles me still, but most of the time I think nothing of it when love is near.”

Gandalf nodded. “There is hope, then.”

“If there weren't,” Frodo replied, looking thoughtfully up to Eärendil's Star, “I would make my own.”

Soon after, they bid one another goodnight, and the finest of mornings at dawn.

Frodo found Sam still up waiting for him as he returned to their room, and they didn't settle into bed until after a lengthy interlude for hugs and kisses. “You all right?” Sam asked, gathering Frodo against his chest as they nestled beneath the covers.

“I am. Always, when I'm with you.” Frodo replied, planting a kiss against his neck. “And I always will be, I should think.”

Sam hummed – like a small thunderstorm rumbling in his chest. “And me as well, when it's you near.” he said, reaching for Frodo's four-fingered hand to kiss the missing digit. “I do love you,” he said, shifting their position to kiss his forehead, “oh, more than the world.”

Frodo shifted in turn, and placed a gentle kiss on Sam's mouth. “And I love you, my Sam.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here at last, dear readers, at the end of October comes the end of our series on AO3. I can't believe how quickly the month has gone by, nor that I actually managed all 31 stories!
> 
> It is thanks in immense part to you wonderful folks who have kept reading what I've posted, and filled my heart with delight unimaginable with your views and kudos and comments. Thank you so much for reading along!! I can't say the process was always easy, but the kindness and care you all have shown over the past month has kept me going, right on to the end.
> 
> I don't think I'll be writing anything for a good while now, but this experience has been really good for me, I think, and I'm so happy I could take you wonderful people along for the ride! To those that have read the whole way through since the beginning, those that have read some here and there, and even those only just dropping in now, thank you so much for reading! You are awesome and wonderful, and I hope you have a very lovely Halloween. <3


End file.
